Vijay Prashad reports on the latest IOM report on migrant deaths and the under-reported deaths of migrants crossing the Sahara

Italian authorities have seized a charity boat operated by Open Arms after it disembarked 176 people saved at sea

The land routes taken by migrants through Sub-Saharan Africa and the sea crossing points in Libya and Tunisia are also extremely dangerous due to wars and local conflicts. Those who survive the perilous sea crossing often face harassment by a web of agencies in European countries

Migrant aid organizations have blamed Italian authorities for delaying rescue operations despite adequate information and the presence of ships nearby

This is the third such incident in less than a month in the eastern Mediterranean. In September, close to 100 people, mostly Lebanese and Syrians, had died off the coast of Syria while trying to cross to Europe from Lebanon

Most of the refugees were Lebanese or Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The boat had left the Miniyeh region a few days before and was headed for Europe

The recent incident of refugees being stranded in the Mediterranean without assistance from coastal forces exemplifies a larger pattern of cruelty by European nations towards those fleeing conflict zones

The International Organization of Migration (IOM), a UN agency, claimed that more than 1,146 people drowned while crossing the sea between January and June this year, in comparison to 513 victims in the same period last year

The move is being seen as part of Turkey’s attempts to consolidate its position as a regional hegemon. The actual deployment of troops will take place once the Turkish parliament ratifies the decision

The proxy war being waged in Libya for almost a decade has heated up with regional and international powers, including Turkey, competing for greater control over the region’s resources

The attack took place despite the fact that the Palestinians were fishing in a permitted fishing zone off the coast of Khan Younis in the south of the blockaded Gaza strip